Design process

Bo Hu
John Nieber
Outline
Steps in Design
Process Creation
Heuristics in Process Design
Steps in Design
Engineering Design
Problem-solving methodology
Definition of the problem
Generating of information
Generation of alternative solutions
Evaluation of alternatives
Solution to the problems
Communication of the results
Design Requirements
The identification and establishment of Design
Requirements are critical for a Good Design
Acceptable performance is essential
Performance requirements include
Products
Functional
Complementary
Process
key lifecycle functions, such as process stability, quality of the
products, etc
key process activities to be undertaken across the lifecycle functions
such as handling capacity, production rate, conversion ratio, etc
procedures that may be required to manage the processes, such as
automation, failure control, employee training etc.

Design Step
Process of Chemical Engineering Design
[ SSL (2004) ]
Map
Process of Chemical Engineering Design (cont.)
Map
[ SSL (2004) ]
Steps in Process/Product Design
Design problems - assume they are open ended with many solutions that are
attractive and near optimal.
Steps to design are not the same generally between different designers.
Product and process development experiments to uncover and explain
reaction mechanisms.
Product/process design composition of mixtures, complex flowsheets, select
operating conditions, optimization, creating configured industrial/commercial
products.
Engineers frequently obtain patents.
Basic steps (fig. 1.2a) Detailed description (fig.1.2b).
Potential opportunity Design team creates a primitive problem.
Primitive problem : Seeking chemicals/mixtures w/ desired properties.
When a process is required implement process creation.
If profitable Base case is developed.
Steps in Process/Product Design (cont.)
Pharmaceutical Products
Discovery iterative process, isolating enzymes, genomic analysis
Preclinical development Animal testing of medical products/drugs
Clinical Trials Human testing of medical products/drugs.
Drug effect vs. Placebo (or vs. Substitute drug)
Approval FDA (Food and Drug Administration) permission to sell
drugs.


Issues in design
Utility and cost
Single and multi-functionality
Batch or mass production
Patents
Aesthetics
Integrity of product (wholeness)
Whole life-cycle planning
Health effects and safety
Recycling and disposal
End of product life and replacement issues
Failure modes
Effects on society
Ethical issues design
Philosophical and practical ethics
Codes of Ethics

- Health and welfare of humans and nature
- Informing client/employers of consequences
- Statements and information in truthful manner
- Treating people fairly (avoiding conflict of interest)
- Limits of professional competence
- Building professional reputations according to merits
- Continuing professional development
- Issues with intellectual property.

Issues
Life systems preservation
Maintenance of quality of life
Maintaining high standards of personal and professional conduct
Managing intra-professional customs, identifiers, habits, and limits.

[ SSL (2004) ]
Economic analysis
What is the relevance of economic analysis to design?

Economic assumption : Measure of value is monetary
Process cost in context of the company
Reporting costs, financial status, and transactions.
Value today, value tomorrow.
Material cost, labor cost, indirect cost
Manufacturing cost, storage cost, transport cost
Product cost scaling and correction factors

Statistical analysis
What relevance is statistics to design?

Statistical focus : The one and the many
Measures of central tendency
Measures of variation
Probability
Uncertainty analysis
Linear regression
Six sigma quality concept
Optimization and development of designs
Statistics in process control for quality
AspenTech HYSYS Modeling Code
Menu driven, Mouse driven.
Flowsheets, Modular units.
Mixers, Reactors, Flash separators,
Distillation units, Heat exchangers.
Reaction databases.
Chemical property calculations.
Species, Mass, Momentum, Heat Balances.
Equipment Sizing.
Economic calculations.
Optimization.
CAD, MAPWindow/ArcGIS, WAM, HEC-RAS
CAD develop engineering drawings
MAPWindow/ArcGIS work with mapping
systems for various geographical analyses
WAM one of many models for watershed
assessments
HEC-RAS a model for water flow in open
channels
Process Creation
Process Creation
Preliminary Database Creation
to assemble data to support the design.
Experiments
often necessary to supply missing database items or verify crucial
data.
Preliminary Process Synthesis
top-down approach.
to generate a synthesis tree of design alternatives.
illustrated by the synthesis of processes for the manufacture of VCM.
Development of Base-case Design
focusing on the most promising alternative(s) from the synthesis tree.
Ref: Seider, Seader and Lewin (1999), Chapter 2
Preliminary Database Creation
Thermophysical property data
physical properties
phase equilibria (VLE data)
Property prediction methods
Environmental and safety data
toxicity data
flammability data
Chemical Prices
e.g. as published in the Chemical Marketing Reporter
Experiments
to check on crucial items above
Literature and Information Sources
Company context - employees, company files, open literature provide :
Product info (related), thermophysical properties, transport data,
flowsheets, equipment descriptions, process models.
National Laboratories and Research Institute Reports e.g. SRI International, NIST,
NIOSH.
Encyclopedias (technical, chemical process and technology).
Handbooks and Reference Books (Perrys Chemical Engineers Handbook, CRC
Handbook of Physics and Chemistry)
Journals (Book format, electronic format)
Indexes (INSPEC, COMPENDEX, SCIENCE CITATION INDEX)
Patents (U.S. Patent Office www.uspto.gov/patft )
Auxiliary Studies (e.g. technical feasibility, marketing, business related)
Innovation (e.g 3M)
Preliminary Process Synthesis
Synthesis of chemical processes involves:
Selection of processing mode: continuous or batch
Fixing the chemical state of raw materials, products, and by-products,
noting the differences between them.
Process operations (unit operations) - flowsheet building blocks
Synthesis steps -
OEliminate differences in molecular types
ODistribute chemicals by matching sources and sinks
OEliminate differences in composition
OEliminate differences in temperature, pressure and phase
OIntegrate tasks (combine tasks into unit operations)

Continuous or batch processing?
Continuous
Batch
Fed-batch
Batch-product removal
The Chemical State
Decide on the raw material and product specifications (states):
Mass (flow rate)
Composition (mole or mass fraction of each chemical species
having a unique molecular type)
Phase (solid, liquid, or gas)
Form (e.g., particle-size distribution and particle shape)
Temperature
Pressure

Process Operations
Chemical reaction
Positioning in the flowsheet involves many considerations (conversion,
rates, etc.), related to T and P at which the reaction are carried out.
Separation of chemicals
needed to resolve difference between the desired composition of a
product stream and that of its source. Selection of the appropriate
method depends on the differences of the physical properties of the
chemical species involved.
Phase separation
Change of temperature
Change of pressure
Change of phase
Mixing and splitting of streams and branches
Synthesis Steps
Synthesis Step
O Eliminate differences in
molecular types
O Distribute chemicals by
matching sources and sinks
O Eliminate differences in
composition
O Eliminate differences in
temperature, pressure and
phase
O Integrate tasks (combine tasks
into unit operations)
Process Operation
Chemical reaction
Mixing
Separation
Temperature, pressure and
phase change

Example 1:




Vinyl Chloride Manufacture
Process Creation
Assess Primitive Problem
Process design begins with a primitive design problem that
expresses the current situation and provides an opportunity to
satisfy a societal need.
Normally, the primitive problem is examined by a small design team,
who begins to assess its possibilities, to refine the problem
statement, and to generate more specific problems:
Raw materials - available in-house, can be purchased or need to be
manufactured?
Scale of the process (based upon a preliminary assessment of the
current production, projected market demand, and current and
projected selling prices)
Location for the plant
Refined through meetings with engineering technical management,
business and marketing.
Brainstorming to generate alternatives
Example: VC Manufacture
To satisfy the need for an additional 800 MMlb/yr of VCM, the
following plausible alternatives might be generated:
Alternative 1. A competitors plant, which produces 2 MMM lb/yr of
VCM and is located about 100 miles away, might be expanded to
produce the required amount, which would be shipped. In this case, the
design team projects the purchase price and designs storage facilities.
Alternative 2. Purchase and ship, by pipeline from a nearby plant,
chlorine from the electrolysis of NaCl solution. React the chlorine with
ethylene to produce the monomer and HCl as a byproduct.
Alternative 3. Since the existing company produces HCl as a byproduct
in large quantities are produced, HCl is normally available at low prices.
Reactions of HCl with acetylene, or ethylene and oxygen, could produce
1,2-dichloroethane, an intermediate that can be cracked to produce
vinyl chloride.

OEliminate differences in molecular types

Chemical
Molecular
weight
Chemical
formula
Chemical
structure
Acetylene 26.04 C
2
H
2
H - C C - H
Chlorine 70.91 Cl
2
Cl-Cl


1,2-Dichloroethane


98.96


C
2
H
4
Cl
2
Cl Cl
| |
H-C-C-H
| |
H H

Ethylene

28.05

C
2
H
4

H H
C = C
H H
Hydrogen chloride 36.46 HCl
H-Cl

Vinyl chloride

62.50

C
2
H
3
Cl

H Cl
C = C
H H

Chemicals participating in VC Manufacture:
O Direct chlorination of ethylene:

Selection of pathway to VCM (1)
Advantages:
Attractive solution to the specific problem denoted as Alternative 2 in
analysis of primitive problem.
Occurs spontaneously at a few hundred
o
C.
Disadvantages:
Does not give a high yield of VC without simultaneously producing large
amounts of by-products such as dichloroethylene
Half of the expensive chlorine is consumed to produce HCl by-product,
which may not be sold easily.

HCl Cl H C Cl H C
3 2 2 4 2

(2.1)
O Hydrochlorination of acetylene:

Selection of pathway to VCM (2)
Advantages:
This exothermic reaction is a potential solution for the specific problem
denoted as Alternative 3. It provides a good conversion (98%) of C
2
H
2
VC
in the presence of HgCl
2
catalyst impregnated in activated carbon at
atmospheric pressure.
These are fairly moderate reaction conditions, and hence, this reaction
deserves further study.
Disadvantages:
Flammability limits of C
2
H
2
(2.5 100%)

Cl H C HCl H C
3 2 2 2

(2.2)
O Thermal cracking of C
2
H
4
Cl
2
from chlorination of C
2
H
4
:

Selection of pathway to VCM (3)
Advantages:
Conversion of ethylene to 1,2-dichloroethane in exothermic reaction (2.3) is
98% at 90
o
C and 1 atm with a Friedel-Crafts catalyst such as FeCl
3
. This
intermediate is converted to vinyl chloride by thermal cracking according to
the endothermic reaction (2.4), which occurs spontaneously at 500
o
C with
conversions as high as 65% (Alternative 2).
Disadvantage:
Half of the expensive chlorine is consumed to produce HCl by-product,
which may not be sold easily.

2 4 2 2 4 2
Cl H C Cl H C
HCl Cl H C Cl H C
3 2 2 4 2

HCl Cl H C Cl H C
3 2 2 4 2

(2.3)
(2.4)
(2.1)
O Thermal Cracking of C
2
H
4
Cl
2
from Oxychlorination of C
2
H
4
:

Selection of pathway to VCM (4)
Advantages:
Highly exothermic reaction (2.5) achieves a 95% conversion to C
2
H
4
Cl
2
in
the presence of CuCl
2
catalyst, followed by pyrolysis step (2.4) as
Reaction Path 3.
Excellent candidate when cost of HCl is low
Solution for specific problem denoted as Alternative 3.
Disadvantages:
Economics dependent on cost of HCl

(2.5)
(2.4)
(2.6)
O H Cl H C O HCl 2 H C
2 2 4 2 2
2
1
4 2

HCl Cl H C Cl H C
3 2 2 4 2

O H Cl H C O HCl H C
2 3 2 2
2
1
4 2

O Balanced Process for Chlorination of Ethylene:


Selection of pathway to VCM (5)
Advantages:
Combination of Reaction Paths 3 and 4 - addresses Alternative 2.
All Cl
2
converted to VC
No by-products!
(2.5)
(2.3)
(2.7)
O H Cl H C O HCl 2 H C
2 2 4 2 2
2
1
4 2

HCl 2 Cl H C 2 Cl H C 2
3 2 2 4 2

(2.4)
2 4 2 2 4 2
Cl H C Cl H C
O H Cl H C 2 O Cl H C 2
2 3 2 2
2
1
2 4 2

Evaluation of Alternative Pathways
Chemical Cost (cents/lb)
Ethylene 18
Acetylene 50
Chlorine 11
Vinyl chloride 22
Hydrogen chloride 18
Water 0
Oxygen (air) 0


Chemical Bulk Prices
Reaction Path O is eliminated due its low selectivity.
This leaves four alternative paths, to be compared first in terms of
Gross Profit.
Computing Gross Profit
Reaction path O
C
2
H
4
+ Cl
2
= C
2
H
3
Cl + HCl
lb-mole
1 1 1 1
Molecular weight 28.05 70.91 62.50 36.46
lb 28.05 70.91 62.50 36.46
lb/lb of vinyl chloride 0.449 1.134 1 0.583
cents/lb 18 11 22 18

Gross profit = 22(1) + 18(0.583) - 18(0.449) - 11(1.134) = 11.94 cents/lb VC
Reaction
Path
Overall Reaction
Gross Profit
(cents/lb of VC)
O
C
2
H
2
+ HCl = C
2
H
3
Cl
-9.33
O
C
2
H
4
+Cl
2
= C
2
H
3
Cl + HCl
11.94
O
C
2
H
4
+ HCl + O
2
= C
2
H
3
Cl + H
2
O
3.42
O
2C
2
H
4
+ Cl
2
+ O
2
= 2C
2
H
3
Cl + H
2
O
7.68


Raw Materials
Process Flowsheet?
C
2
H
4
, Cl
2
Products
C
2
H
3
Cl, HCl
Cl
2
113,400 lb/hr
C
2
H
4
44,900 lb/hr
Direct
Chlorination
Pyrolysis
C
2
H
4
Cl
2
HCl
58,300 lb/hr
C
2
H
3
Cl
100,000 lb/hr
HCl
C
2
H
3
Cl
C
2
H
4
Cl
2
C
2
H
4
Cl
2
C
2
H
3
Cl + HCl C
2
H
4
+ Cl
2
C
2
H
4
Cl
2
Preliminary Flowsheet for Path O
800 MM lb/year @ 330 days/y 100,000 lb/hr VC
On the basis of this principal sink, the HCl sink and reagent sources
can be computed (each flow is 1,600 lbmol/h)
Next step involves distributing the chemicals by matching sources
and sinks.
O Distribute the chemicals
A conversion of 100% of the C
2
H
4
is assumed in the chlorination reaction.
O Distribute the chemicals
Only 60% of the C
2
H
4
Cl
2
is converted to C
2
H
3
Cl with a byproduct of HCl,
according to Eqn. (2.4).
To satisfy the overall material balance, 158,300 lb/h of C
2
H
4
Cl must
produce 100,000 lb/h of C
2
H
3
Cl and 58,300 lb/h of HCl.
But a 60% conversion only produces 60,000 lb/h of VC.
The additional C
2
H
4
Cl
2
needed is computed by mass balance to equal:
[(1 - 0.6)/0.6] x 158,300 or 105,500 lb/h.
Its source is a recycle stream from the separation of C
2
H
3
Cl from
unreacted C
2
H
4
Cl
2
, from a mixing operation, inserted to combine the
two sources, to give a total 263,800 lb/h.
O Distribute the chemicals
The effluent stream from the pyrolysis operation is the source for the
C
2
H
3
Cl product, the HCl by-product, and the C
2
H
4
Cl
2
recycle.
Reactor pressure levels:
Chlorination reaction: 1.5 atm is recommended, to eliminate the
possibility of an air leak into the reactor containing ethylene.
Pyrolysis reaction: 26 atm is recommended by the B.F. Goodrich patent
(1963) without any justification. Since the reaction is irreversible, the
elevated pressure does not adversely affect the conversion. Most likely,
the patent recommends this pressure to reduce the size of the pyrolysis
furnace, although the tube walls must be considerably thicker and many
precautions are necessary for operation at elevated pressures.
The pressure level is also an important consideration in selecting the
separation operations, as will be discussed in the next synthesis step.

O Distribute the chemicals
The product of the chlorination reaction is nearly pure C
2
H
4
Cl
2
, and
requires no purification.
In contrast, the pyrolysis reactor conversion is only 60%, and one or
more separation operations are required to match the required purities
in the C
2
H
3
Cl and HCl sinks.
One possible arrangement is given in the next slide. The data below
explains the design decisions made.
OEliminate Differences in Composition

Boiling point (
o
C)
Critical constants
Chemical 1 atm 4.8 atm 12 atm 26 atm T
c
,C P
c
, atm
HCl -84.8 -51.7 -26.2 0 51.4 82.1
C
2
H
3
Cl -13.8 33.1 70.5 110 159 56
C
2
H
4
Cl
2
83.7 146 193 242 250 50


OEliminate Differences in Composition
Boiling point (
o
C)
Critical constants
Chemical 1 atm 4.8 atm 12 atm 26 atm T
c
,C P
c
, atm
HCl -84.8 -51.7 -26.2 0 51.4 82.1
C
2
H
3
Cl -13.8 33.1 70.5 110 159 56
C
2
H
4
Cl
2
83.7 146 193 242 250 50

There may be other, possibly better alternative configurations, as discussed
in Lecture 4 (Chapter 5).
O Eliminate differences in T, P and phase
O Integrate tasks (tasks unit operations)
Development of Base-case Design
Develop one or two of the more promising flowsheets from the synthesis
tree for more detailed consideration.
Homework II
Review assigned projects, form the project team, and submit the project
design constraints and criteria
Project design: UMORE park is a 5,000-acre property located 25 miles southeast of the Twin Cities in Dakota County. The
university is envisioned to build an environmental friendly community in the next two to three decades focusing on
innovations in many areas for example renewable energy. Instead of changing agricultural land to metro blocks, we are
making this fake projects to study the feasibility of producing ethanol, butanol or PLA from this agricultural land. Students
are requested to estimate the annual agricultural products that can be generated from this land and provide an engineering
design of a process to produce the targeted product. Please work in a big team to generate the overall economic feasibility
study.
1. ethanol fermentation
2. ethanol distillation
3. butanol fermentation (ABE fermentation)
4. Butanol distillation
5. lactic acid fermentation
6. PLA production
Project design: Minnesota State Fair is one of the largest state fairs in the US and it attracts over one million visitors every
year. The organization committee wants to build a demonstration process to teach the general public how we can
convert our food waste oils to biodiesel. Please provide an engineering design of this project, working in a big
team to generate the overall economic feasibility study.
1. biodiesel proudction --- oil transesterification
2. biodiesel separation
3. glyceral utilization